Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

We've been back in Delhi for about three weeks.  And in our usual fashion we hit the ground running.  About 24 hours after our arrival we were gathering for our first faculty meeting where my principal announced my pregnancy to all of the elementary school teachers, many of whom knew of our struggles to conceive.  When I stood up and said that we were expecting two babies in January the whole room erupted in applause.  Of course, I cried.  It felt so good to be there standing in front of my colleagues who are really so much more.  I am so honored to be surrounded by such warm and supportive people. 

Telling a room full of people, also, scared the shit out of me, but, that wasn't the end of telling for me.  A week later I had to tell my students' parents.  The most terrifying experience of telling, however, was when I had to tell a room full of 7 year olds.  All I could think of was, "what if something happens, I'm only 15 weeks?"  There's nothing like a blind leap of faith to lift your spirits.  Since I've told I can't help but enjoy being pregnant.  It's wonderful, except for the severe constipation, food aversions and middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom.  I still have those moments when I worry something will go wrong, but, the moments are fleeting.  I know that's just part of the journey and I allow my self to feel whatever  comes my way so that I can work through it and get back to enjoying being pregnant.  

Now, inspired by Tippy the trailblazer, my stats:

Status: 16w3d

Weight Gain:  I think this week is the first week I have actually gained any weight.  My first 13 or 14 weeks of pregnancy I didn't have much of an appetite. I didn't lose any weight but I have been noticing my face getting thinner.  I'm sure that's about to change.  :)

Symptoms: As I mention earlier,  I am suffering from some severe constipation.  This last stretch was 5 days!  I take citrocel and drink lots of water but it doesn't seem to help.  This morning I finally had a cup of coffee to get things moving.  It worked but then I felt like a terrible mother.  I know it's ok to have a bit of caffeine but I'm so not used to it that I ended up feeling like I had a whole pot.  I couldn't help but wonder what my babies felt. 

Cravings:  These have remained consistent from day one, ice-cream and fruit of any kind.  

Aversions: Onions, although I recently had some salsa for the first time and enjoyed it.  Anything bitter, I took a bite of something bitter in a soup I was enjoying and it was totally ruined for me.  The smell of alcohol is unbearable.  Pork or chicken, I've pretty much become a vegetarian when I need protein the most.  In general, food is just weird for me these days.  I don't know when an aversion will strike so I eat whatever I can when I'm feeling hungry and make sure I take my prenatal every day.  

Exercise:  I've been thinking about calling my yoga instructor.  Does that count?  No, really I will now that work has settled down a bit.  

Best Moment of the Week: Today was a good day.  We had a relaxing morning before we went in to the birthing center for some blood work.  Then we went to the mall for some preliminary baby shopping.  I've been in that baby store so many times, but, it was always for someone else.  This time it was for us! 

What I Look Forward to: Wearing some of the cute maternity clothes I got today.  And maybe, just maybe feeling my babies move in the next couple of weeks.  

And Finally, the Bump:

One of Our Own

I know many of you, dear readers, know Bernadette, but some of you may not.  I started reading her blog about a year ago.  After many years of struggling with infertility she and her husband turned to India for help and stepped onto the path of surrogacy.
On their first attempt they had the help of a donor and two surrogates.  Their first attempt failed.  On their second attempt they also had the help of a donor and two surrogates.  This time they were successful.  One surrogate was carrying twins and the other a singleton.  Unfortunately, the singleton, who they affectionately nicknamed Ken, was lost late in the first trimester.  Then at 29 weeks her twins were born, one boy and one girl.  As any mother would, Bernadette rescheduled all her travel arrangements and got on a plane and came straight to India 10 weeks before she had planned.
The twins, although early, were a very good weight.  It seemed that it would only be a few weeks that they would be in the NICU.  It seemed that their trials and tribulations would be over soon.  It seemed that their perfect little family would live happily ever after.  At that was true, for the lovely Princess Scarlett.  She did leave the NICU just a few weeks after she was born. But here we are more than 130 days later and Hayden, aka Master Cheeks, is still struggling.  He's still on oxygen, he's still in need of constant medical care.
During her time here in India Bernadette has become the unofficial welcoming committee of every IP that lands in Delhi.  She organizes dinners and shopping trips.  She introduces people and is just a constant source of strength and a know how for families on similar journeys. If you need a cheerleader, she's your girl.  If you need to know where to buy formula or have a prescription filled in the middle of the night, you can count on Bernadette.  She does all this with grace and style and with a sharp sense of humor.  She does all this while caring for her little princess.  She does all this in between trips to the NICU to visit Master Cheeks.
She has done so much for our community.  It's time to do something for her.  In order to get this perfect little family home Cheeks will need a medical team to accompany him on the flight back to the States.  Let's give them their happily ever after.  Please donate whatever you can to...
https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/send-money-online 
bmhunton@gmail.com 
All donations will go directly to Bernadette and Duane.  

Wordless Wednesday

Long Awaited...

This is just going to be a quick one. We finally made it to the NT scan. I plan on writing a full play by play of the events but I want to wait until I have an actual keyboard to work with.
So all is well. We have two very active little nuggets with strong heartbeats. Baby A is way in the back so was making the tech's job pretty difficult. Meanwhile, Baby B was showing off with karate chops and somersaults. Here the are. Baby A is tucked away in the bottom left hand corner behind Baby B.

Prunes

Today I am 10 weeks. My babies are the size of prunes. In fact, I'd like to say that I even have a little bump but I know that whatever bump is there is likely due to the fact that I haven't pooped in 3 or 4 days. This morning's breakfast was raisin bran and PRUNES! Hopefully that'll get things moving. Some of my other symptoms include breast tenderness and occasional nausea. The nausea is triggered by heat and my heightened sense of smell. My breasts have gone up a full cup size! I had to go out a get new bras.
Yesterday I went in for some blood work that is part of the 12 week screening. I surprisingly haven't gained any weight yet. I hope that's ok.
In other news we still don't have Internet. Other than not being able to write proper blog posts regularly it hasn't been too bad being unplugged. We have enjoyed our visitors and focussed on getting the house decorated. Jason and I have a new love for antique/vintage shops. We found this old steam trunk from the 1920's that still has all the original drawers and hangers. It now serves as a side table to our new couch. Yesterday we found some gems at a shop in Superior. Our place is really beginning to look like ours. Next I've got to tackle to light fixtures.
So there is a bit of an update slowly pecked out one letter at a time on my iPhone. I'm so looking forward to my 12 week scan and doing my best to stay positive. I just keep telling myself that is is it. It's got to be it. These babies are my take home babies.

Right?

Worry

I can't seem to help it. On Friday I noticed that I wasn't feeling any nausea and I began to worry. We had guests all weekend and I quietly worried. Sunday night after the all left I told jason that I hadn't felt nauseous in three days and that I was worried. I had also been getting these weird cramps in my vagina. I was worried that maybe I was miscarrying one or both of the babies. I'm on susten 400 twice a day and I was worried that it would mask a miscarriage. Does anyone know if this is true. If a woman on progesterone suppositories had a miscarriage could it go unnoticed until her next ultrasound? By this morning I had gotten myself into such a tizzy that I called the doc and asked if I could come in. I am happy to report that the beans are just fine. I saw both of their little hearts flickering away. Twin B is really far back and not easy to get a good look at but doc said by 12 weeks we will be able to get a much better look. After we left the office I cried my eyes out. I was so relieved. I want so much to enjoy this pregnancy. If I could only stop worrying so much.

Three weeks until my 12 week scan.

Beans

I threw up for the first time last night. I also reached the eight week mark. there are still those days that I don't feel pregnant at all but I'm not as worried about it as I had been. After our scan 2 weeks ago the doc said we didn't need to come in for the 8 weeks scan and that we could just wait until we go in for the 12 week scan. At the time it seemed like a good idea because our insurance will not cover any pregnancy that was achieved using ART. Doctors visits, scans and meds are all very expensive in the States and we have to pay out of pocket for all of it. Now that i have another four weeks to wait until I see the beans I'm wishing we kept that appointment. At this point it's too late and I'm just going to have to be patient.
In other news we are really enjoying our little piece of America. My parents came for a week. Jason ran a half marathon. We are still working on projects around the house. And this weekend jason's cousins and their wives are all coming up. So now I'm off to plan a menu for the weekend before my nausea kicks in.